The Infected
by noneee
Summary: Naruto wakes from a coma and to his horror finds Konoha abandoned and completely in shambles. Now he has to try and persist with the few remaining survivors or face his demise at the hands of the infected. Zombie Fic
1. Part I

**A/N:** This fic is heavily inspired by 28 days later as well as some other zombie properties so you undoubtedly see some similarities although I did try to add some of my own stuff so its not entirely plagiarized or anything like that. I originally intended for this to be a short oneshot, but it ended up a lot longer then I originally intended so I broke it into three parts. So the whole story is complete now, its just a matter of me posting it; so maybe a chapter every other day or so, maybe sooner with some encouragement. So please read and review and most importantly enjoy.

**WARNINGS:** Rated "M" for strong bloody violence and language

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**The Infected: Part 1**

Screeches filled room, the incessant screams echoing off the barren walls. Cages shook violently as small furry hands wrapped around rusted metal bars, pulling at them, furiously trying to escape their small prisons. A loan dim light hung perilously from the low ceiling, casting eerie shadows across the cold ground. Two figures walked slowly through the room, their icy gazes were met by rage filled red eyes.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" One of the men whispered; the sudden lurches and hollers of the imprisoned beasts sending chills down his spine.

"Don't be so scarred all the time," the second man replied calmly, his hollow eyes continuing his examination of the many caged demons. Fearlessly, he bent down in front of one of the cages, looking over its occupant. The screams got louder and the bars shook harder as the prisoner became even more enraged, the sight and smell of its prey exciting the beast to new heights.

"But if we get caught we're screwed; _he _doesn't like people tampering with his work," the first man hissed. He had become fidgety now; always staying what he thought was a safe distance away from the red eyed monsters.

"Well then we just won't get caught," The second man said as he reached out to fiddle with the cages lock. "Now get over here and help me, we have to do this quickly."

Perspiring heavily now, the first man tried to swallow his fear and tiptoed towards the cage his companion had almost opened by now, undoing a large burlap sack he had been holding in the process.

Then in an instant the second man had the padlock undone and dropped it to the ground, the loud clank it caused echoing through the room, angering the imprisoned specimens even more. "Get ready, I'm about to open it," The man grunted as he battled to keep the cage shut, its occupant furiously trying to free itself now that the lock had been removed.

Gulping loudly, the first man readied himself, holding the opening of the sack near the metal door. Sweat had seeped through his already grimy clothes and it was taking almost all his self control to keep himself from trembling.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

And then the door was open. Without a moment of hesitation the beast moved and with a sudden burst of maddening speed it was out of its prison, flying though the air towards its prey.

Shocked by the monsters frightening speed the bag carrying man panicked. He fumbled the bag in his hands, letting it slip free for just a second. But that second was more then enough of a window for the beast to act. The man cried out in a pain as fangs dug into his neck, tearing at the skin.

The man thrashed out, trying to throw the monster from his neck, but to no avail. The furry beast had dug itself in, its sharp fangs digging into the man's neck and its razor claws slashing at the man's shirt and face. Blood spurted from the fresh wounds, the grisly scene exciting the other caged demons; their screeches filling the air louder then ever. The man continued to thrash and scream as the beast dug in deeper and deeper and more blood splattered onto the floor.

And then just as quick as it had started it was over. The other man had not been standing idly by, and with one fell swoop he had dislodged the ferocious beast from his companion's neck and packed it away in the burlap sack; holding the thrashing mass at an arms length.

"That fucker bit me!" The injured man cried, grabbing at the open wound in his neck. The beast had not let go easy though, and when he had been torn from his prey he had taken a large patch of skin with him. Blood streamed from the open wound, adding to the blood now leaking from the many other scratches and gashes the man had obtained.

"That little guy really did a number on you," the man's friend joked. He reached into his pack with his free hand and took out a roll of bandages, tossing it to his bleeding accomplice. "You really need to be more careful, if you hesitate like that you're going to get yourself killed eventually- Hey are you okay?"

The injured man had frozen. The bandages his friend had tossed him had bounced harmlessly off his chest, rolling onto the floor. His eyes were trained on the ground; his hands had fallen from his neck to hang limply at his sides.

"What's wrong with you?"

Suddenly, the injured man twitched, a sudden jerk of his shoulder accompanied by a twisted yelp. Then the man froze again, but only for a moment, as soon he twitched again, a mixture of a hiss and growl coming from deep in his throat. In another jagged movement he took a step forward, closing the distance between himself and his comrade.

"Wh-what the hell is wrong with you?" The as of yet unscathed man stammered, still holding the thrashing mass of burlap sack and monster in his hands. The screeches from the cages beasts escalated further, their small fists continuously banging on their metal bars.

The injured man let out a feral scream as he lifted his head, revealing crimson red eyes. And then with another wretched hiss he charged, lunging at his new prey.

xx

_Wake up._

With a gasp azure eyes shot open. For a moment, everything was white, eyes having not been exposed to light for far too long slowly adjusting. As the brightness slowly dimmed the endless sea of white was replaced by the textured grey of the ceiling. Sidelong glances to the left and right revealed the remainder of the surroundings; a small hospital room with the only light leaking in coming from a small porthole on the right wall. The dull hum of a life support monitor and the intermittent drip of the last of a feeding tube emptying itself were the only sounds reverberating in the bland room.

With a groan, the room's loan occupant tried to push himself upright, his shaggy blond hair falling into his eyes in the process. After a moment of struggle the boy finally righted himself, breathing deeply from the surprising amount of effort it took to even sit up. From his new higher perch, the boy better examined his surroundings. He was in an all too familiar hospital, in a small private room with the only door leading out locked shut.

Still groaning, the blond haired boy reached for a small buzzer laying on a stand next to the bed, pressing the single red button the remote contained. Within moments the boy expected a nurse to come rushing through the door, or maybe even that pink haired girl he hadn't seen in far too long.

After a few minutes of waiting, no one came. The door remained shut and not a sound came from the other side. For what was normally a noisy and bustling hospital it was surprisingly quite. Had everyone gone home for the day? Based on the amount of sun leaking through the room's single window, it was possible; it looked to be approaching dusk.

"Hello?" The blond haired boy called out, hoping to get someone's attention. Again, no one answered and the boy remained alone in the bleak room.

The boy jumped as a sudden growl broke the eerie silence. He looked frantically back and forth for the source of the sound but found nothing out of the ordinary. A sudden pang in his stomach followed by another low rumble made the boy realize that the growl hadn't been some intruder, it had been his stomach, and he was starving. Glancing around the room again the boy saw no sign of food. In fact there didn't seem to be much in the room at all; just him in his bed, the life support system which had attracted a sizeable layer of dust, and a supply closet in the corner. He needed food, and if there was no one here to get it for him, he would just have to get it for himself.

The blue eyed boy pushed himself up even further and threw the warm blanket that was covering him off to the side. Now with the blanket off, he could get a better look at himself. He wore only a thin blue hospital gown, and by the feeling of it--nothing underneath. He was skinny, skinnier then he could ever remember himself being. The gown sunk down low on his stomach, lower then it should, and even with it on he could almost see the outlines of his ribs.

With a grunt, the boy pulled the needles that stuck out of his pale skin, leaving sore red spots up and down his arm. His skin was pale, pasty even, he never remembered being like this; his skin had always been a nice bronze from being outside so frequently. Another rumble from his stomach reminded the boy he had more important things to deal with; he didn't have time to dwell on how he looked.

With a great amount of exertion the blond haired boy pushed himself to sit on the edge of his bed, letting his legs dangle over the side. He stayed like this for a moment, taking a deep breath, preparing himself. And then slowly he pushed himself off, letting his feet rest on the cold linoleum floor. Before he knew what had happened his whole body was on the bitter floor as his legs could no support his weight and he fell forward, landing on the ground face first.

The boy groaned, pain shooting through his body. His legs weren't working right and he no longer had enough muscle mass to keep himself standing upright, let alone walk. How long had he been out to have lost so much muscle mass in his legs that he could no longer stand? He had been out of action, sometimes even bedridden, for many days at a time before and he had never had trouble walking after. He must have been stuck in that bed for a very long time.

Using the little remaining strength he had in his arms, the boy pulled himself towards the storage closet in the corner of the room. With any luck there would be a wheelchair in it, or at least something to help him walk. Reaching out to the wooden door, the boy threw it open, peering inside. To his dismay there was no wheelchair, but there was a small wooden crutch. It wasn't much but it would at least let him walk.

After a few minutes of struggle, with the help of the crutch, the boy had forced himself to his feet and had made it out the door of his room. In the hallway things were just as barren as they had sounded. Not a single person was in site and there didn't appear to be anyone even in the building. Some papers lay strewn about on the ground, old and tattered. How long had they been there? Shouldn't someone have picked them up by now?

Now that he was out of his room, the blond haired boy didn't waste any time. He immediately went in search of food, limping down the hallway, relying heavily on his crutch. His stomach rumbled again, incessantly reminding him of his need for food.

Little by little the boy made his way through the hallways, winding up and down them, looking for anything that looked remotely edible. And again to his dismay, he found nothing. As he wandered through the halls it just became more apparent how disheveled and barren the hospital really was. Folders and papers lay scattered all over the ground. Several windows had been broken and their glass had been added to the heaps of trash. None of the lights were on, many were even broken.

"Hello?!" The blue eyed boy cried out again, knowing that his calls would be met with nothing. Something had happened here. Had they just abandoned the hospital and moved it elsewhere? Then why had they left him, lying helplessly in his bed? Had something much worse happened?

Abandoning hope of finding anything of use in the hospital the boy headed for the street. The large panes of glass that normally adorned the front entrance door had been smashed off like much of the other glass objects in the hospital. Dried blood stuck to the small shards that jutted out of the doors frame. The boy stepped cautiously through the doors, making sure not to cut himself on the protruding sharp objects. He found himself glad the door had been smashed, as the automatic sensor normally used to open it seemed to have been deactivated.

As he arrived outside the boy was met with a chilling breeze that caused him to shiver slightly. He didn't have much meat on him anymore and the thin hospital gown that was his only piece of clothing did not give much protection against the elements. Now added to his need for food he had a priority to find warmer clothes.

Still leaning heavily on his crutch, the boy started to make his way through the town, in search of food. Just like the hospital the town was empty, not so much as a single person walked the usually busy streets. Trash and debris littered the ground; many buildings had chunks missing from them and several light posts had been toppled over, blocking much of the street.

More confused then ever now, the boy took the quickest path to the place where he always had gotten food in the past, and he prayed would have some now. But as he arrived at the ramen stand he found his hopes once again shattered. The small stand that normally stood proudly near the entrance of Konoha had been dilapidated. The stools had been broken, the legs of them spread across the street. A large part of the counter was missing, blown apart by something. Behind the counter was not any better. Dusty pots and pans lay piled on the ground, many ancient ramen noodles mixed in with them.

"Hey, old man, are you here?" The boy yelled, knowing the answer full well before he even asked the question. What the hell was going on? All of Konoha seemed abandoned. Debris lay everywhere, most structures thoroughly destroyed. Had everyone suddenly decided to just get up and leave? Was he dreaming? Was this just an illusion?

"Hello!" The boy cried out once more after several more minutes of wandering. "Is anybody here?!" It was going to be dark soon. The sun was about the dip below the horizon and soon everything would be encompassed in total darkness, as none of the streetlamps turned on. The boy kicked at some of the lamps, hoping to jumpstart them, completely oblivious to the shadows that zoomed by behind him.

With daylight quickly running out the boy had to do something. He was completely exhausted, still not having had anything to eat and quite worn out from his trip around town. He had to find somewhere to sleep soon or he would be liable to freeze. He could head to his apartment, but that was on the other side of town and walking all the way to the top floor where his room was would be quite a bother.

"Hello!" The boy called out one last time, expecting this attempt to be as futile as the last. He nearly jumped out of his skin as his cry was answered with a piercing shriek. A chill ran up his spine as the shriek continued, getting louder and louder as the source of it got closer and closer.

"H-hello?" The boy said, barely above a whisper. "Somebody there?"

Another barrage of even more intense hollers and growls responded. The boy looked down the street towards where the sound came from, looking on horrified as from buildings and dark alleyways many bloodied and battered people emerged. There movements were jagged; forced and even from a great distance the boy could tell something was wrong with them.

"Are you guys okay?" The boy asked, starting to back up slowly as the many grizzled people move forward.

Then suddenly the people charged, running towards him at ferocious speeds. The blond haired boy barely registered what was happening before the first person was upon him. Swinging out wildly, the boy connected with the side of the attackers head with his crutch, sending them both tumbling to the ground as he lost his balance.

"Shit, I shouldn't have done that," The boy muttered to himself as he looked over to the deranged person that lay next to him, blood pooling on the ground from the wound he had inflicted on their head. He had seen this person around Konoha at times, what had happened to make them want to attack him?

The boy didn't have time to contemplate this as the next wave of deranged people was soon upon him. He tried to stand up but he no loner possessed the strength to do so and he fell onto his back. He braced himself for the attack, holding his arms in front of his face to protect himself, unable to fight. He waited for the worst--but nothing happened.

Confused, the boy slowly removed his arms from in front of his face, looking around him to see what had happened. The deranged person that had been about to attack had joined the first one in a bloody heap on the ground, bleeding profusely from wounds that two Kunai entering its chest had created.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" A voice said from behind the now thoroughly frightened ninja.

"Shino!" The stoic Aburame stood over Naruto. He still wore the heavy green and black jackets Naruto remembered last seeing him in, but now they had become caked with dirt and blood, many tares running throughout the fabric. His hair was messy and long and overall his whole appearance just seemed more grimy then normal. "What's happening? What's wrong with these people?"

And then just as suddenly as Shino had appeared and saved him he held a knife to his neck. "Did you get any of the blood on you?"

"N-no," Naruto stammered surprised by Shino's actions. "What are you doing, get that knife away from me."

Trusting his friend, Shino pulled the knife away and looked back up to the approaching rabid people.

"What's wrong with them?" Naruto asked again.

"They're infected," Shino replied plainly, watching as several more infected approached them.

"Infected? What do you mean?"

Shino didn't have time to respond as four more infected got dangerously close. With a quick flick of his wrist a kunai with an exploding tag was attached to the closest one and in a deafening explosion it was blown to bits, the blast lighting the other three closest infected on fire. Their howls filled the air as they continued to run about aimlessly, the fire engulfing their bodies.

"Can you walk?" Shino asked, never taking his eyes off the approaching infected.

"N-no," Naruto stammered, he was still in shock from everything that was happening. "What the hell is-"

Shino cut the blond ninja short as he picked up the boy, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack. He didn't waste any time, even with the squirming mass over his shoulder, he took off in a run back where he had come from.

As they bounded down the street, the shrieks diminishing in the distance, Naruto felt something foreign on his backside. "Hey Shino, your hands on my ass," Naruto grumbled as he was carried away. He still only had his hospital gown on and it provided very little covering for his backside.

Shino ignored him again and kept on running. He weaved in and out of alleyways, changing direction whenever a howl indicated a near by infected. Soon they arrived at a small building, the only entrance to it being a thick metal door. Shino banged on it three times and waited, "Let me in." He called to whoever was inside.

After a few short moments the door cracked open and Shino pushed his way inside, slamming the door short and bolting it behind him. With a thud he dropped Naruto on the ground, leaving the boy to pant and try and his catch his breath as he sat down in a wooden chair on the other side of the room.

"Who was it?" A familiar feminine voice asked as she entered the room from an adjoining one. As she saw the panting Naruto she gasped, backing up into the wall. "N-Naruto…"

Propping himself up on his elbows Naruto found himself looking at a madly blushing Hinata who had pressed her back against the wall, looking awfully weak in the knees. "Hinata!" He exclaimed. "You mind explaining what exactly is going on?"

Hinata didn't answer, she opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She just leaned against the wall, hands over her mouth, blushing.

"Are you surprised to see him?" Shino asked, seeing Hinata's shocked expression.

"N-no, it's just…" Hinata pointed down at Naruto. Naruto's flimsy hospital robe had bunched up on his stomach, and since he had no other cover, much more was revealed then should be.

Realizing what had happened; Naruto turned an even brighter shade of red then Hinata and quickly covered himself.

"Naruto, you're alive!"

"Sakura!" The pink haired girl stood in the same doorway that Hinata had entered from. Just her hair wasn't quite the same hue of pink Naruto remembered. It had become grubby; bits of sand and dirt sticking to the ends of it. Her normally spotless clothes had been soiled as well, almost as dirty as Shino's had been.

"So you were the one that we heard screaming like an idiot?" Sakura exclaimed. "You shouldn't do that you know? You're just going to attract swarms of them and get yourself killed. You're lucky Shino got to you in time."

"Y-yeah, thanks for saving me Shino," Naruto said. "Now could someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Has he woken up yet?" Shino asked, turning to Sakura, completely ignoring Naruto's questions.

Sakura shook her head, her expression turning serious. "Speaking of waking up, I'm kind of surprised to see you here, Naruto. It's been nearly a month; I didn't expect you to wake up, especially with no one attending to you."

"You still haven't answered my question," Naruto frowned, starting to become annoyed.

Yet again, Sakura did not answer his question. Instead she approached Naruto, bending down to examine his legs. "You've been out for a while; you've lost a lot of muscle in yours legs." She said as a green aura appeared around Sakura's hands as she used her chakra to rapidly rebuild muscle in Naruto's legs. "This won't completely heal you but you'll at least be able to walk."

"Thanks Sakura…" Naruto muttered, "Now could you _please_ tell me what the hell is going on."

"Fine," Sakura sighed. She walked back across the room and opened a chest that was set against the wall. She rummaged through it for a moment before pulling out a few candy bars and a can of soda. "Eat these," she said as she tossed the items to Naruto, "You look starved; the feeding tube you've been connected to must have run out days ago."

"Thanks." Seeing the food made Naruto remember how starved he was and promptly tore off the wrappers and devoured the contents.

"I guess it started about a month ago, a few days after you got back," Sakura commenced, finally deciding to answer Naruto's question. "It started with just a few people acting weird, attacking people for no reason. No one thought much of it. But then it started to spread. Soon it was a pandemic. It spreads through the blood somehow. One drop of infected blood and you were done for. The village started to tear itself apart. Some people tried to evacuate, some tried to fight it. Now a month later here we are."

"This all happened from an infection?"

Sakura nodded. She sighed as she sat down on top of the chest she had just gotten Naruto's food from.

"So where is everybody? Where's Kakashi? Hinata, where Neji and your family? Were is anybody?" Naruto asked, still letting everything letting sink in.

Sakura shook her head. "We have a few rules that we've followed since this all started."

"Rules?"

"Yes, rules," Shino interrupted. He glanced over to Hinata from his corner of the room. She was noticeably distraught at the mention of her family. "The first is that anyone who you do not know for a fact is alive you assume is dead of infected. You can't waste time looking for people, it will just get you killed. The second, is if you see anyone that is infected you kill them, no matter who it is. And most importantly, if any of us becomes infected you kill them without a moment hesitation. In fact, if you become infected it would be best if you just killed yourself; it would save us a lot trouble."

Naruto was speechless. Shino had been so blunt in his speech that his coldness had even surprised Naruto, who already thought the Aburame was rather weird. "Then who do we know is alive?"

"Besides who you see in here, just Kiba who is unconscious in the other room," Sakura said, jumping back into the conversation.

"H-how? How could everyone else be killed so easy? They're strong; they should have been able to fight off those crazed maniacs!"

"Skill," Shino stated as he stood up from his chair, heading towards the entrance to the adjacent room, "Has nothing to do with it. The only reason we're still here is because we got lucky, and that's the end of it. Now I suggest you get some sleep, you look exhausted. We have cots and rollout mattresses in the other room." And then Shino was gone, disappeared into the other room.

Hinata, who had been standing red faced in the corner the entire time followed Shino's lead and moved to leave the room. "G-goodnight Naruto." She said, and then she was gone as well.

Now it was only Naruto and Sakura left in the room. Sakura smiled weakly at Naruto, crossing her legs as she sat on the supply crate. "It's nice seeing you again."

"Yeah…" Naruto whispered. In any other situation Naruto would have been elated to spend time with Sakura, but this reunion felt bittersweet.

"You should get some sleep, we've got a long day tomorrow," Sakura said and then she was gone as well, leaving Naruto alone, sitting on the icy floor.

"Goodnight…"

xx

Naruto awoke late the next morning with his whole body aching and his stomach rumbling, a searing headache piercing his skull. He was surprised at how well he had slept; he had just woken up from what essentially was a month long nap after all. With a groan, Naruto rolled over to look to his right. Everyone else had vacated the room already and he could hear them talking off in the other room. That was, everyone except Kiba, who lay still unconscious on the other side of the room on a cot.

"So do we have enough now?" Hinata asked, shifting uncomfortably in a fragile wooden chair.

"Assuming they both wake up and can walk, yeah we should," Sakrua replied.

"Have enough for what?" Naruto interjected as he emerged into the room. He could walk now thanks to Sakura, but it was labored and he doubted without physical therapy and proper treatment he wouldn't be able to walk normally anytime soon.

"Nothing," Shino answered from his spot near the door. "Is Kiba awake yet?"

Naruto shook his head. "What happened to him?"

"We don't know," Shino replied, "We found him a day before you showed up, he was unconscious and beat up pretty badly."

"Oh," Naruto moved towards the supply crate, grabbing some food from it. He was still starved and even though his head was throbbing from only eating sugar, he couldn't really complain about the quality of the food given the situation. Tearing off the wrapper off of another candy bar, Naruto sat down on the crate, looking over his companions as he devoured his breakfast.

"So what do you guys do here?" Naruto asked, bits of food spraying out onto the ground as he spoke with almost an entire candy bar in his mouth.

"Do?" Sakura frowned, looking up at the ceiling, seemingly deep in thought. "Survive, mostly. We go out sometimes to look for more survivors but until we found you and Kiba that hadn't proven to be very useful."

Naruto was frowning now as well. He continued to chomp oh his candy bar as the four of them sat in silence. Hinata sat across from him, looking down at her sleeve, picking dirt off of it. Shino stood silent near the door, barely moving at all. Sakura just looked at Naruto, watching him shove candy bar after candy bar down his throat.

A sudden gasp from the other room made everyone jump and within moments they had all gathered around Kiba, who had waken up and now lay breathing heavily on his cot, his eyes darting around the room.

"What the fuck, where am I?" Kiba muttered, panting as he rolled over to sit on the edge of the cot. "Hinata? Shino? Naruto? Sakura? What the hell is going on?" Kiba was almost hyperventilating as he struggled to stand up, collapsing back down on the cot moments later.

"Kiba, calm down," Shino instructed, forcing his old teammate to lie back down. Kiba didn't fight back and lay back, slowing his breathing. "Now tell us what happened to you?"

"Well…" Kiba started as he shook his head, trying to get his mind back to reality. "Last thing I remember I was hunting in the woods and I got attacked by a bunch of those zombie infected people. I must have passed out after I got away from them. I'd been awake for several days straight, I must have just dropped."

"Hunting?" Sakura asked. "You know you shouldn't be doing it, it's too dangerous and most of the animals are infected."

"Yeah I know, but it's not like _I _was going to eat it," Kiba muttered. He'd sat back up again now that he had composed himself and was in the process forcing himself to his feet. "Well I really appreciate you guys bringing me here and all but I've got to go now."

"Go? Go where?" Naruto asked as he followed Kiba out of the room.

"Back home of course," Kiba replied as he marched towards the small places only door. He didn't make it though, as a few feet from the door he collapsed, falling to his hands and knees.

"K-Kiba, you should probably eat and drink something, you've been out for a couple days," Hinata said, helping her friend onto the chair she had been sitting in earlier before rummaging through the supply chest for more food.

"Yeah, you're probably right, I'm feeling a little light headed," Kiba groaned as he graciously accepted Hinata's offer of food.

"Kiba, you aren't actually planning on going back are you?" Shino asked as he entered the room.

"Why wouldn't I?" Kiba responded as he munched on his food. He had completely calmed down by now and seemed completely at peace.

"Well, is anyone still there?" Shino knew that they normally shouldn't ask things like this as it normally brought up painful memories, but Kiba seemed rather carefree, was it possible everyone in his family was still alive?

"Akamaru is, and I can't just leave him there can I?" Kiba stood up as he finished eating and downed a can of juice as he headed towards the door. "You guys can come if you want, it would probably be safer if there were more of us anyway."

Everyone else looked nervously at each other. It could be dangerous to go out, but if they went in a larger group it would be significantly safer. "Okay, we'll go with you," Shino said, speaking for everyone. "It would be too dangerous to let you go alone. Everyone make sure you have enough supplies."

Hinata and Sakura nodded and get read to leave. Naruto stood around confused, he still wore only a hospital gown and they didn't appear to have any extra clothes.

"Don't worry Naruto, you can borrow some of my clothes," Kiba laughed as he saw Naruto's confusion.

"Like I'd want any of your clothes!" Naruto barked back. "I bet they all smell just as bad as you do!" Even if Naruto really did appreciate the offer, he wasn't about to admit he needed charity from Kiba.

"Well then have fun dying," Kiba smirked as he unbolted the large metal door and stepped out into the outside world.


	2. Part II

**A/N:** Thank you everyone that reviewed, so as promised, here is the next part. Hope you enjoy and remember to review some more! And something to keep in mind while reading, I toned down everyones powers a little so they are more like normal people, it makes the horror much easier to write.

* * *

**The Infected: Part 2**

"Almost there," Kiba yelled out as they approached his house. The walk there had been tense. Even though it was still daytime, it was dangerous to travel and as such everyone had to stay constantly alert.

"Where's Akamaru?" Hinata asked, "Are you sure he's still okay?" The chance that a single dog could survive on its own for more then a day was very unlikely. Was Kiba just becoming delusional?

"Of course he is!" Kiba responded happily, continuing forward. He sniffed the air tentatively a few times and glanced back and forth, as if looking for something. And then a familiar scent caught his nose. "Look here he comes!"

A rumble could be heard off behind a tree in front of them and suddenly a white flash approached them at a ferocious pace. Kiba smirked as he saw the beast appear, taking a few steps towards where his companion was approaching from.

As Akamaru got closer the rest of the group gasped as they got a better view of the giant dog. His fur was covered in blood and his fangs were bared, dark red liquid dripping from his mighty jaw. His eyes were a horrifying shade of red, rage pulsing through his bloodstream.

As he got within striking distance Akamaru lunged forward. Hinata, Sakura, Shino and Naruto jumped back, alarmed by Akamaru's sudden attack, but Kiba held his ground, smiling at his friend. Akamaru flew through the air, his jaw extended as he attacked his master. And then just as he got within inches of Kiba he jerked back, tumbling on the ground back towards where he had come from.

"Now Akamaru, how many times have I told you not to do that, you'll just hurt yourself," Kiba yipped cheerily as he watched his dog roll around on the ground, gagging as a metal chain that was attached to a nearby tree tightened around his neck.

"Kiba! What are you doing? He's infected, you have to kill him!" Sakura screamed, grabbing Kiba's arm and pointing at the infected dog.

"And why would I do that? He's all tied up, he can't hurt anyone," Kiba brushed off Sakura's hand and walked towards a shed off behind them. He threw open the door and disappeared inside, appearing moments later with a dead rabbit in his hand.

"What's that for?" Hinata asked as she watched Kiba carry the dead rabbit back towards them.

"What do you think?" Kiba responded, throwing the rabbit over to Akamaru. As the smell of the rabbit's blood perforated the dog's nostril it jumped to its feet and promptly tore the rabbit to pieces, devouring it. "Why did you think I was going hunting?"

Everyone watched in horror as the infected monster devoured its meal mercilessly. Kiba grinned as he watched the scene, stealing a glance back at his terrified comrades.

"K-Kiba, he's infected," Hinata stuttered, "You can't let him live, it's too dangerous. And you're feeding him? You can't do this Kiba!"

"Why not?" Kiba was still smiling, "How could I kill Akamaru? He's my best friend. Just because he's a little crazy doesn't mean I should kill him."

"Kiba, if you won't kill him then I will," Shino said, drawing a Kunai, ready to throw it.

Kiba continued to smile, letting a short laugh escape from him. "If you do that then you might as well kill me as well because I won't forgive you."

Shino hesitated. It was dangerous to leave such a monster alive, but it could prove to be even more troublesome to deal with Kiba. He knew the bond the two shared and he wasn't quite sure how far Kiba would go if Akamaru really did get killed. Biting his lip in frustration Shino sheathed his weapon and continued forward. "Let's keep moving, we need to get Naruto some clothes."

Kiba's house wasn't in much better shape then the rest of the town. The windows had been boarded up, shattered glass lying below many of them, obviously having been broken from previous attacks. Many of the outer walls of the house had blood on them and were cracking, gradually crumbling. The front door had been fortified as well, planks of wood nailed to it with many shuriken stuck in them.

"Careful everyone," Kiba ordered, "There's broken crap all over the place; some of it might be infected."

Inside of the house wasn't much tamer. There was plenty of broken glass littering the ground and much of the furniture had been broken, the splintered fragments still scattered about. The place smelled awful as well, rotten food was stuck behind what little furniture remained and the scent of rotting flesh was prevalent.

"Kiba, you really need to do a better job cleaning up," Sakura muttered, kicking aside what looked like part of someone's arm.

"Yeah, well after the fiftieth attack and third death I sort of gave up," Kiba said as he shut and bolted the door after they had all entered. "Naruto, my rooms down the hall, you can take whatever you want."

"Yeah, thanks," Naruto grumbled before heading down the hall towards where Kiba had motioned.

Hinata watched as Naruto walked down the hall, disappearing into Kiba's room, blushing as his naked back was revealed. She stood nervously near the door, looking over what little remained of Kiba's house. She had been here before, but it had been much different last time. There weren't dried puddles of blood in the corners or patches of torn off fur strewn about. In fact, for a house that had normally been packed with dogs and wolves, there was an eerie lack of them now.

Cautiously, Hinata made her way to the only couch that hadn't been torn to shreds yet, dodging fragments of glass and pieces of fur on the way. She was exhausted, not so much physically but mentally. Everything that had been happening was too much for her and now having both Kiba and Naruto show up like nothing had happened was pushing her past her limits. Kiba and Shino soon joined her on the couch while Sakura sat in an armchair that had one arm torn off across the room from them.

They sat in silence for a while now, waiting for Naruto to return from getting dressed. Soon the blond boy appeared from the end of the hall heading towards them. He wore one of Kiba's old grey jackets, along with a pair of his pants and some tattered sandals.

"Kiba, your clothes are huge," Naruto moaned, holding his arms out to show how his hands disappeared into the sleeves when he let the jacket hang loose.

"Heh, that thing hasn't fit me in like a year, you're just a midget," Kiba laughed, taking in the ridiculous site of Naruto in his old clothes.

"I'm not a midget," Naruto retorted, "I just haven't eaten much in the past month, I probably shrunk a little."

"You still look ridiculous," Kiba mocked.

"Hey, they're your clothes!" Naruto growled, about ready to knock Kiba out.

"Shut up you two," Shino demanded. They didn't have time for the two hotheads to argue.

"Fine," Naruto grumbled, "So are we going to leave now? I'm afraid if I touch anything here I'm going to die."

"We're not going anywhere," Shino responded, "Sit down Naruto, we have to talk."

Naruto looked around the room. Shino, Hinata and the dog punk took up the entire couch and Sakura was sitting in the only other chair that didn't have jagged points sticking out of it. "And where exactly am I supposed to sit?"

"It's convenient that we found you and Kiba," Shino started, ignoring Naruto's question. "Since you two seem fit enough we should have enough people to move."

"Move?" Kiba asked, "Move where?"

"About two and a half weeks ago we got a message from Suna," Sakura replied, jumping into the conversation, "By that time they had heard about what was happening here and they were having signs that a similar infection could be in the beginning stages there as well."

"Well what did the message say?"

"Your so impatient Naruto," Sakura muttered, taking a moment to brush her hair out of her eyes before continuing, "Basically, the message said they had a cure—an answer to infection."

Kiba and Naruto instantly perked up when they heard Sakura say those elusive words.

"A-are you serious?" Kiba asked, looking frantically back from Sakura to Shino.

Sakura nodded, "Of course we don't know if it's true and we haven't heard anything from Suna since. We've wanted to make the trip there for some time now but we just haven't had the numbers. But now that we have you two we should be fine and we go. There's nothing left for us here anyway."

"So then what are we waiting for? Let's go?"

"Don't be so hasty, Naruto," Shino reprimanded, leaning back into the couch, folding his arms across his chest. "It's getting late and traveling at night is the most dangerous. We'll stay here till morning and rest up. We're leaving as soon as the sun rises tomorrow."

xx

It had gotten dark, the house cast into complete darkness, the only light any of them had was emitted from a few candles Kiba had dug up. They should have been sleeping, but they were all too anxious to and instead stayed up talking.

Shino talked with Kiba as they caught up and Hinata and Sakura talked on the other side of the room in the corner near a window. Naruto had found himself a spot that was not covered with glass or debris and had started working out. His legs had been sore from the walk previously that day and if they had to make it all the way to Suna he had to be in much better shape.

Naruto groaned, collapsing onto his back, panting as he finished a set of sit-ups. He glanced over towards Sakura and Hinata, only their outlines visible in the low candle light. Even though he had known them both for years, everything that had happened to them in the past month seemed to have distanced them. They seemed different somehow.

Tired of exercising, Naruto got up off the floor and walked slowly towards Hinata and Sakura. They sat in the corner, talking quietly, and as Naruto approached the both looked up at him and smiled weakly.

"Hi," Naruto whispered as he sat down on the floor next to them.

"Hey," Sakura murmured in response, looking down at the candle that stood in the center of all of them.

A silence encompassed the three of them now, no one knowing quite what to say now that Naruto was there. Hinata would glance up from time to time to look at Naruto but when Naruto's gaze met hers she would always quickly turn her attention back to the floor, tracing lines in the floorboard.

"So I was kind of wondering something," Naruto said, breaking the silence. "Well I know basically what brought Konoha to this point but what happened to you guys in the past month. Like Hinata, where's your family?"

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped, surprised by the bluntness of his question. Hadn't she already told him the rules?

"No, it's okay," Hinata was still looking at the ground, her white eyes hollow. "It happened not to long after infection. Much of the Hyuga family had boarded themselves up in their houses and my family had done the same. Everything seemed fine for a few days and then they attacked. At this point we didn't know too much about the infection and when the infected attacked my dad killed them. But given our style of close combat he became infected as well. He quickly infected my mother as well as everyone else in our household until it was just me and Hanabi. When you're infected you can't think straight and you can't tell friend from foe, you're just encompassed with this intense urge to attack, to kill. You no longer have the capacity to do any techniques, all your chakra is put towards the rage. So my dad and my family attacked us, I was left with no choice but to kill them to protect myself and to protect Hanabi. But when it was all through I realized that in the midst of it all, Hanabi had become infected as well…"

"So…did you have to…?" Naruto was in shock about what he had just heard. He would have never thought Hinata to be this kind of person.

Hinata nodded and opened her mouth to speak but a sudden crash into the boarded window above them interrupted her. They all recoiled, taken aback by the sudden assault. They looked up in horror as sticking through the blanks of wood of the window were several horrifyingly sharp claws, each trying to tear its way through the rotting board. A vicious growl came from the other side, as the board slowly got picked away.

"What the hell is that thing?" Naruto screamed, backing away from the window is it continued to slowly crumble.

Another deafening crash sounded from the other side of the room as more claws dug into another boarded window. Soon another one sounded, and then another. The group watched in horror as the only thing protecting them from the outside world slowly got torn away by slicing claws; the whole room echoing with ferocious growls as the infected continued their assault.

"They're breaking through!" Sakura cried, brandishing a kunai. "What the hell are those things? Kiba please don't tell me they're what I think they are."

"Yeah, they probably are," Kiba responded calmly, watching as the ones who used to be his families most loyal companions picked away at his defenses.

By now there were several infected demons at each window; gaping holes forming as the boards got picked away at. Growling snouts with fangs bared stuck their way in, sniffing at the air, smelling their prey inside.

"Everyone get ready," Shino ordered, drawing his own weapon. Everyone complied, drawing kunai and shuriken, preparing themselves for the attack. That is, everyone but Kiba, who stood calmly as he watched the windows gradually fall apart.

"Kiba, what are you doing?" Hinata asked as she watched her friend stand still, hands in his pocket, not even so much as getting in a defensive position.

"Don't worry," Kiba stated, still calm.

"They're breaking though!" Naruto yelled, crouching down low so he could dodge any attack.

"I said don't worry," Kiba repeated as he brought his hands out of his pocket, slamming them together in a seal.

Explosions rocked the house as exploding tags Kiba had set on all the entrances to the house detonated. Through the holes that had developed in the boards the houses' inhabitants watched as balls of fire engulfed the attackers, sending their charred corpses flying away from the house. The light crackly of fire could be heard outside, several nearby trees and parts of the house having been lit aflame. Inside, Sakura and Naruto had been knocked to the floor, the other three barely having been able to keep their balance.

Brushing herself off, Sakura slowly stood up, taking several deep breaths trying to calm herself. "Overdo it much, Kiba?"

"It worked didn't it?" Kiba said grinning as he walked back to sit down on the couch.

"You're an asshole," Sakura muttered, picking bits of debris from her hair. "Is everyone else-"

Sakura didn't have time to complete her sentence as she was knocked to the ground by a flying white blur that broke through the now feeble window. The giant white mass attacked her, trying to sink its teeth in. Underneath it Sakura squirmed, trying to get leverage, and with a grunt she kicked the attacker off, sending it careening across the room. Sakura scrambled to her feet, grabbing her weapon that had fallen to the ground.

"No…" Kiba whimpered, as he watched the all too familiar beast growl and struggle to its feet. "How did you escape…?"

Akamaru growled lowly, his searing red eyes scanning the inhabitants of the room he had just broken in to. Blood dripped from his fangs, the metal collar and parts of the chain still around his neck. He continued to inspect the room until his eyes found Kiba, who was now the closest to him.

"Akamaru, please don't…" Kiba pleaded, his complexion changing from composed to desperate in an instant. "Please…"

Akamaru ignored him, letting out a terrifying roar before charging at his old master.

"Kiba, move!" Hinata yelled, watching as the Inuzuka stood still, a pleading look in his eyes, not even a weapon drawn.

Kiba's hand trembled as he tried to force himself to move but couldn't. He watched in horror as Akamaru lunged at him, falling onto his back as Akamaru lurched through the air, jaw extended and claws outreached.

Naruto looked on, terrified. He was still on the ground, his legs feeling too weak to even lift himself. He watched as Akamaru jumped at Kiba, a petrified look in Kiba's eye. And then he watched as a barrage of Kunai embedded themselves in Akamaru's side, sending the massive dog slamming into the wall.

Hinata panted, her arms still outstretched, trembling with the knowledge of what she had just done. Akamaru slipped from the wall, crashing onto the ground, a bloody red streak left behind where he had fallen from.

Kiba's body shook as he lay on the ground, looking sidelong as a pool of blood seeped out from under Akamaru's matted fur. He looked over at Hinata, who had now dropped her arms and was wiping dirt from the explosion off of herself. He tried to force his body to move, to make himself speak, to cry out at Hinata for doing that, but he couldn't. He just lay on the ground, quivering, letting his eyes come to rest on the ceiling.

"Everyone get ready, we're leaving. There will be more of them soon," Shino said as he grabbed his things, "Is everyone alright?"

Sakura nodded as she brushed herself off again, her heart still racing from the attack. It was then that she noticed the thin trail of blood weaving down her arm, coming from a set of scratch marks on her shoulder. She quickly wiped the blood off and tried to hide the wound but it was too late.

"Sakura, what was that?" Shino asked, taking a few steps towards the pink haired girl.

"It-it's nothing," She stammered, backing herself against the wall.

"You got injured, you're infected," Hinata observed, joining Shino in his approach.

"No, please don't, it's fine, I feel fine," Sakura begged, her arm still cupping her injury.

"I'm sorry Sakura," Hinata said and she and Shino converged on the quavering now infected girl.

xx

The four remaining members of the group ran through the woods, Konoha having disappeared behind them long ago. The sun was beginning to rise and long shadows were cast behind the group. The forest was oddly quite, few animals cared to make an appearance, only a few birds called out from high overhead.

Naruto panted, breathing heavily as they continued to run. They had been running ever since the incident at Kiba's house more then two days ago with minimal breaks and he was starting to become exhausted. Normally a run like this would be nothing for him, but he still hadn't completely recovered and his legs ached as they pushed forward.

Kiba stayed in the back of the pack, barely keeping up with the rest of the group. His mind was elsewhere and he mindlessly moved forward, deliberately avoiding eye contact every time Hinata turned back to look at him.

The forest was starting to thin as the terrain began to change from dirt and plant growth to sand. They were approaching Suna, and within a day they planned to arrive. Arrive to what they hoped would be the start of something new, a change from the hell they had lived for the past month.

Half a day later, they were well into the desert and the wind was beginning to pick up. Sand blew in their eyes and mouths and they couldn't see more then ten feet in any direction.

"We have to find shelter!" Shino called out, changing directions to head towards a small mountain. "If this storm gets much worse we'll be killed!" Wordlessly everyone agreed and followed Shino as he headed towards the mountain.

By the time they reached the mountain the wind was blowing sand so fast that it was scratching at their exposed arms and faces, leaving thin red marks. The group found shelter in a small cave facing away from the wind and they all huddled in for the remainder of the storm. There was no wood for them to use, so they all sat in nearly complete darkness, the only light coming from a small scroll Shino had been carrying, a tiny flame flickering in the center of it.

They sat in silence for a while, shaking sand from their clothes and hair, eating some of the little food they had brought with them. Naruto had fallen asleep, resting against one of the rock walls, loosing consciousness almost as soon as he had sat down. Hinata sat across from him, shifting her gaze from the sleeping blond boy to Kiba, who was still not making eye contact with her. Kiba sat next to Naruto, looking blankly out at the sandstorm still raging outside. Shino sat quite in contemplation, his gaze unknown behind his sunglasses.

"Something seems a lot less buggy about you, Shino," Kiba murmured as he continued to stare off into the endless sea of sand. "I haven't seen a single bug flying around or on you. You have a bad break with them or something?"

Shino didn't respond; he could feel his hand tense in the sleeve of his jacket. Sighing deeply, he stood up and walked to the edge of the cave, putting his hand out to test the speed of the winds.

"If you don't want to talk about it its okay," Kiba said as he watched his teammate let his hand get pelted by thousands of pebbles of grain.

"I got rid of them," Shino still looked out into the wall of sand, letting his hand fall to his side as it became raw from the unrelenting assault. "When the infection started we weren't quite sure just how infectious it was. As you know the Aburame use their bugs to attack their enemies. After the first attack the bugs started to act strange. They started to attack their carriers and many of us became infected, some died. We realized that the bugs had become infected. By the time we realized that it was almost too late, much of the clan had been wiped out. The only way we could survive was to get rid of our kikai. Many of the clan members couldn't adapt so they eventually died or became infected as well. We had to leave the Aburame grounds as it had become overrun by infected kikai. That's when I met up with Sakura and Hinata."

"That's pretty fucked up," Kiba muttered, looking away from Shino and the outside, deciding instead to look at the caves loan light source.

"Looks like the storm is dying down enough for us to move," Shino concluded after holding his hand out again. "Wake Naruto up, we have to move fast. We lost a lot of time due to the storm and it will be dark soon, we want to make it to Suna before dark."

xx

The sun had almost disappeared under the horizon by the time Suna came into view far in the distance. Traveling as fast as they could in what little light remained the group rapidly approached the city. Even from a distance though they could tell something was wrong. There were no lights coming from the city, something not normal for such a big place.

By the time they got within clear view of Suna they were positive there was something horribly amiss. No guard's stood watch around the perimeter of the city and much of the cities exterior defenses had become dilapidated, crumbling.

"Shit, I knew it was too good to be true," Kiba yelled, kicking up a cloud of sand in anger. "They have an answer my ass, those Suna bastards are no better off then us."

"Maybe they are holed up somewhere in the city," Hinata offered scanning the area for any sign of life. "We should try and go find them."

"No."

"Shino, what do you mean no?" Naruto was breathing heavily again, running in sand for several hours at a time when you haven't run in a month could be difficult. "Are you proposing we just sit here and die or something?"

"No, I'm proposing we go to where they actually are," Shino said, pointing off in the distance where a large house was lit up.

By the time they had gotten close to the house the sun had completely set and they were all blanketed in total darkness, only the light from a partially covered moon keeping them from being completely blind. They moved cautiously yet quickly, as off in the distance the occasional screech or hiss from an infected could be heard.

"Do you think they actually have an answer to infection?" Hinata asked as they drew closer, keeping constant alertness for approaching enemies.

"We can hope so," Shino replied as he moved rapidly forward.

"They better at least have some food and a bed for us to sleep in be-"

Boom!

Naruto was interrupted as he was tackled by Hinata, an explosion erupting from where he had just stood.

"W-what the fuck was that," Naruto stammered, his ears ringing from the blast.

"There are traps," Hinata responded, scanning the area, seeing hundreds of exploding tags and mines littering the ground. "They're everywhere; they must be to keep infected away."

At the mansion a siren could be heard, the sounds of many people running around barking orders at each other joining them. A bright spotlight lit up on the five meter wall that surrounded the whole house, blinding the small group of Konoha travelers.

"Don't attack," Shino called out, throwing out his arms, "We are friends! We are not infected!"

Confused murmurs could be heard coming from the house, the spotlight still trained on the four tired and battered ninja. Shrieks and hollers started sounding in the distance behind them, growing louder and louder.

"Crap, let's move!" Kiba yelled as he spotted a horde of infected charging at them from behind, obviously having been alerted by the explosion. "Hinata lead the way, and hurry!"

Hinata nodded and she slowly started moving through the booby trapper field. The traps were very dense and it was next to impossible to find a safe path. Some of the traps were buried deep and it was difficult to tell what would detonate and what wouldn't.

"Hurry up!" Kiba yelled as they weaved their way through the mine field. They were still a good fifty meters from the entrance to the house and the infected were approaching the outskirts of the trap field, which started only fifty meters behind them.

Brushing off Kiba's comment Hinata kept moving as fast as she could. The spotlight occasionally shone over them, moving to where the infected were behind them when it wasn't on them. As they got closer it got even harder to navigate through the traps as they got even closer spaced together.

An explosion erupted behind them, nearly knocking Hinata to her knees as the infected reached the first line of traps. They didn't have much time now, looking back Hinata found herself staring at an uncountable number of infected. If they didn't hurry up, soon the infected would be upon them or they would be close enough for the explosions they set off to damage her team. And then there was always the off chance that one of the infected got lucky and managed to dodge the traps and make it to them even quicker.

More and more explosions echoed behind them as the majority of the infected horde reached the mine field. Sand, shrapnel and body parts whizzed by them as more and more mines detonated. Overhead, swarms of weapons rushed by as the houses inhabitants did their part in fighting back the infected. And then, no more then five meters from the door—Hinata stopped.

"Hinata! Move, they're catching up!" Kiba yelled as he tried to nudge Hinata forward.

"I can't, the field is too dense, there is no path," Hinata barked back, furiously scanning for any sign of an opening. The infected were practically on them now; they could feel the heat from the explosions.

"The entrance is not too far away now, I think you can make it if you jump," Shino offered, ducking as part of someone's arm flew over his head.

"It's too hard, there is another five meters of traps and then only a short meter or two gap with no traps," Hinata observed, trying to judge the distance.

"Well, you're just going to have to try, we don't have much time!" Naruto yelled from his position in the back of the pack. If she didn't move fast he was going to be the one that got it first!

Hinata bit her lip, Naruto was right, if she didn't move they would all die. Focusing as hard as she could, Hinata focused all her chakra to her feet and launched herself as far as she could, landing just inches from the last trap.

Kiba was next and as he made the jump easily, landing next to Hinata. Shino as well made the jump fairly easy, almost landing on top of Kiba as the brown haired boy almost didn't get out of the way quick enough.

Now only Naruto was left. The explosions caused by the infected were getting dangerously close. He hesitated though, he still didn't trust his legs and the length of this jump would make it fairly challenging even if he was in better shape. He looked over at his three teammates who were now at the door, Kiba and Shino trying to force it open while Hinata was still looking back at him, motioning for him to jump.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying his hardest to mold all his chakra to his feet. The explosions kept echoing behind him, but he ignored them, continuing to mold his chakra. He could hear Hinata and Kiba yelling, telling him to jump, but he ignored them as well, if he rushed this he would die.

Naruto was kicked back into reality though as part of a severed foot slammed into his back, nearly pushing him forward to his death. Now without a moments more hesitation, Naruto bent down low and launched himself as hard as he could towards the wall. As he landed, his heel just barely missed clipping a trap and he rolled away from it, colliding painfully with the door.

"Let us in you bastards!" Kiba hollered as he banged on the door. It was bolted shut and no one inside showed any signs of changing this. "I'll kill you guys if you don't let us in!"

"Good luck with that," a familiar voice scoffed from the other side of the door. "Ask nicely and maybe I'll let you in."

"Stop fucking around and just let us in!"

"Close enough," the voice sighed as the bolts on the door became unlocked and it slowly got pushed open.

The four refugees rushed in as the door cracked open wide enough to just barely let them slip in. As they all got in the door slammed shut behind them, the locks and bolts put back in place. Explosions still came from the other side but they started to die down as the majority of the attackers had been killed.

The group now stood in the mansions large courtyard, broken statues lining a path to the houses real entrance. The four survivors were all gasping for air, bent over, trying to keep themselves from collapsing.

"Ungrateful brats don't even say thank you," the familiar voice said after a minute of the Konoha ninjas saying nothing, still trying to catch their breath.

"You're an asshole Kankuro," Kiba spat, looking up at the Suna ninja who had just saved them.

"I guess can't expect much more from you," Kankuro sneered, turning to walk back to the mansion. "This is the second time I've saved you and your weak friends by the way."

"Don't, Kiba," Shino said, holding out his hand as the Inuzuka moved to attack the person who had just insulted him. "We don't need any more enemies."

"Whatever," Kiba muttered as he pushed Shino's hand away and followed Kankuro towards the house, the rest of the group close behind.


	3. Part III

**A/N:** So this is the last part so I hope you've enjoyed reading this fic. The pacing may get really fast towards the end because this fic was getting sort of long (it was originally supposed to be a oneshot). Doesn't mean I half assed it though, so I hope you like it.

**WARNINGS:** This chapter is decidedly more dark and bleak then the others ones in my opinion and has a decent amount of violence and language, so be warned.

* * *

**The Infected: Part III**

"So you are the only ones?" Kankuro asked, leaning back in his chair, looking over at the four Konoha citizens across from him.

Shino nodded, "As far as we know, we are the only ones."

"Hmm, Konoha shinobi are pretty weak then-"

"Just shut up and tell us about that cure or answer or whatever it is you have," Kiba growled, standing up, looming menacingly over Kankuro.

"Don't be so rude," Kankuro smirked as he stood up as well, pushing Kiba away as he headed towards the other end of the room. "You guys must be tired having just run away from a horde of infected through a mine field. There are some extra room upstairs, feel free to use them."

"But what about the answer to infection?" Shino asked, still sitting on the couch, watching as Kankuro made his way out of the room.

"It's getting late, we'll talk about that tomorrow morning over breakfast," Kankuro answered as he disappeared around the corner, heading off down another hallway.

"What an asshole," Kiba muttered as he headed for the stairs; making his way towards the empty bedrooms for some much needed rest.

xx

Naruto sat cross legged on his bed, starring blankly out his room's loan window into the pitch black night. The window had bars on it, but they looked like they had been installed long before the infection had started. This place was probably already very well secured so that it could survive wars and attacks, it made sense they would use a place like this to hole themselves up. Although the vast amount of traps around the mansion seemed like a little much.

"N-Naruto, are you in here?"

Naruto turned to the door of the room as it slowly creaked open to reveal Hinata on the other side. "Yeah, I'm in here. Do you want something?"

"Not really, it's just nice to see you again," Hinata responded as she walked into the room, sitting at the foot of the bed Naruto was on. She looked away from him, at the wall, feeling the bed shift as Naruto turned to face her. "I just wanted to see how you were doing with everything that's going on and all."

"I'm okay," Naruto whispered, looking down at the sheets on the bed, poking at them nervously. "I'm just a little in shock still. It feels like I'm hallucinating or in some sort of nightmare."

"Yeah.." Hinata could feel Naruto's eyes on her back and she felt her face change color as the blond boy continued to shift nervously behind her. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier, I hope you're not mad at me or Shino."

"I'm not mad at you," Naruto quickly assured Hinata. He knew she had to do what she did earlier so that at least some of them could live; even if it meant that they all lost a close friend. "It was just kind of weird seeing you and Shino do…that, so easily."

"Yeah…" Hinata said again, she couldn't think of anything to say. What else was she supposed to say to him? "So you're okay right?"

"Yeah, just a little depressed I guess," Naruto whispered, still fidgeting nervously. "Is there anything else you wanted?"

Hinata didn't answer at first; she started to squirm uncomfortably as well, pondering what she should do next. She wanted to stay and talk with Naruto, she had been wanting to be alone with him since they had found out he was alive, but she had never gotten the opportunity, but now that she did have it she felt to awkward and ashamed to do anything. "N-no," Hinata finally stammered, "Better get some sleep, tomorrow may be a good day."

"Goodnight," Naruto muttered as he watched Hinata get up and leave. She paused in the doorway for a moment, as if waiting for him to say something, but when he remained quite, she left, walking back towards her own room.

xx

As morning came light leaked in the through the windows and before it had even fully risen over the horizon all the occupants of the house were called down into the mansions dining room for breakfast. The sand citizens, who had been boarded up in the house since the infection had started several weeks earlier, all talked happily; enjoying the stale bread and cereal that was their only sustenance. The new Konoha visitors were significantly less chatty; they sat solemnly in their chairs, eagerly waiting the news they had been promised.

Besides the four Konoha shinobi and Kankuro, there were seven other people in the room, the only familiar face among those seven being Temari, Kankuro's older sister. Four of the remaining six sand shinobi appeared to be middle aged chuunin or jounin, the other two were younger kids, appearing to be around ten, hardly old enough to be full fledged ninjas. Besides Temari and Hinata, everyone in the room was a male.

As breakfast proceeded, the four visitors started to feel more and more uneasy. Aside from a few occasional words, none of the Suna natives talked to them. The awkwardness started to get to Hinata and she started playing nervously with her food, crushing a piece of her bread into small bits. She stole glances down towards the sand ninjas, trying to read what they were really thinking, but she couldn't see through their seemingly content exteriors.

Shino seemed to be ignoring all that was going on around him and ate his meal intently. Naruto seemed too distracted to notice anything that was going on around him and he starred blankly down at the table, occasionally taking a bite of food. Kiba was getting the most aggravated out of them all. He starred down at Kankuro, Temari and the rest of the suna ninjas, his eyes narrowed as he waited for them to say what they had promised they would.

"So are you guys just going to sit down there all morning and ignore us!?" Kiba barked down the table as he finally reached his breaking point. "You promised us a fucking answer, now give us one."

"So incon-"

"Shut up!" Kiba yelled, interrupting Kankuro. The room had fallen deathly silent and everyone had turned to stare at a red faced Kiba. "S-sorry." He mumbled as he noticed how much his outburst had annoyed the rest of the room. "But could you please just tell us what you told us you would?"

"There's just one thing I'd like to know before you respond to that," Naruto butted in, looking up from his meal, "Where's is Gaara?"

The room grew even more silent and tense, many of the Suna shinobi looking nervously to Temari and Kankuro. Shino looked angrily at Naruto; he had thought he had explained this rule already.

"Sir, I think it's about time we ended breakfast," one of the men said nervously to Kankuro, trying to change the obviously painful subject.

"No, it's okay," Kankuro whispered, "Well as you can tell he's not here."

"So he's…?'

"Yeah, he's dead," Kankuro leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. "When the infection started Gaara took it upon himself to protect everyone. As you know he uses his sand as a weapon. Well after a few days he had gotten a substantial amount of blood caught in it. One of his most powerful defenses is his sand armor and he routinely rotates in new sand to insure that it is always at its strongest. Inevitably always having the sand encompassing him allows some of it too leak in his body. As infected blood became more and more dense in his sand it slowly made its way into his system. He became infected because of his own perfect defense."

"So you had to?"

Kankuro nodded his reply, not wanting to put it into words. "So you guys want to know our plan?"

Kiba nodded, he had substantially calmed down after hearing the story Kankuro had told and now sat quietly in his chair.

"It's pretty simple really…"

xx

Hinata, Naruto and Shino sat quietly on the edge of a single bed, watching as Kiba paced fervently in front of them.

"Kiba, sit down, you're making us nervous," Shino ordered.

"We can't let them do this," Kiba muttered, ignoring Shino as he continued to pace.

"W-well, what else can we do?" Hinata stammered, not quite sure how she felt about this right now. "Maybe what they planned is best."

Kiba stopped pacing now, shooting Hinata a part shocked, part angry glare. He grunted and collapsed into a chair sitting next to the door. "You just aren't my side anymore are you Hinata…" Kiba muttered, "First Akamaru and now this…"

"Kiba, it's not like that…" Hinata whispered, her eyes avoiding Kiba's gaze, opting instead to look at his feet.

"Kiba's right, we can't let them do this," Naruto said as he stood up from his position on the corner of the bed. He had been unusually despondent since they had arrived in Suna and had been speaking far less then his normally hyperactive, boisterous self did.

"So then what do we do to stop it?"

xx

Night was quickly approaching and through the dim light that leaked through the bar covered windows Kiba snuck through the mansions corridors, doing his best to stay completely out of site. Everyone had already headed down to eat dinner but Kiba wasn't done with his mission yet. He tiptoed through corridor after corridor, looking for one specific room that had so far eluded him.

"Why the hell do I always get stuck with the tedious crap," Kiba mumbled as turned down another corridor. If he didn't hurry up his absence would arouse suspicion. He checked several more doors and rounded another corner before finally stumbling upon the one he had been looking for. It was locked, but only by conventional means and it was easy to break with a strong thrust with his shoulder.

Once inside Kiba groaned as he was faced with a room of endless wires linking countless tags together. "Why the hell couldn't Shino do this, he knows way more about all this crap," Kiba grumbled as he tried to unravel the mess of circuitry. He had to hurry, if he got caught here he would be in trouble, Kankuro and Temari had made it clear that they weren't supposed to come in this wing of the mansion, obviously to do exactly what Kiba was in the process of doing.

After finishing his objective Kiba wiped his brow and made his way out of the room, closing the door as best he could. He then quickly made his way towards where the rest of his group was eating dinner. They didn't have much time now, things would probably get going within an hour. Kiba rushed down corridors, retracing his steps back to where his team was.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Kiba froze as the cold voice stopped him in his tracks. He slowly turned to face two Suna nin.

"We've told you that no one is allowed down here, you wouldn't want to mess up any of the houses defenses, would you?" one of the men asked as he took a step towards Kiba.

"I-I just got lost is all, heading down to dinner now," Kiba stammered, trying to turn to leave.

"Kankuro told us to watch out for you, we can't have you trying to sabotage us," the other Suna man said as he appeared in front of Kiba, blocking all routes of escape.

Kiba bit his lip, he was trapped. Both the men were at least chuunin and there was no way he could take both of them out on his own. "So what are you going to do?" Kiba asked, preparing himself for an attack.

"We're going to have to ask you to come with us, we've been asked to deal with anyone that might get in the way," the man responded as he encroached on the frightened Konoha shinobi.

xx

Hinata, Naruto and Shino sat nervously at the end of the long table, looking down at the six Suna shinobi that sat at the other end. Kiba should have arrived a long while ago, yet his spot still remained empty. This all picked uneasily at their food, hoping Kiba hadn't been caught.

"You seem to be missing one," Temari called down the table as she shoveled her meal down her throat.

"You seem to be missing two as well," Shino retorted as he continued to calmly shift his food around on his plate.

"I'm sure they have a valid reason for not being present," Kankuro said with a mouthful of food. "Your little dog friend on the other hand shouldn't be wandering around unattended for in our house."

"I'm sure he has a valid reason as well," Shino assured Kankuro, crossing his arms across his chest as he finished eating.

"We'll see about that."

xx

Kiba grunted as the frigid night air hit his skin as he was roughly pushed out a back door the mansion. His hands had been tied tightly behind his back so any hope of escape was for the time being, hopeless. The two Suna men still stayed with him as they lead him to the back of the mansion, luckily never going back to check if anything had been tampered with.

"What the hell are you guys doing," Kiba moaned as he was cruelly forced face first into the sand.

"What we were ordered to do," one of the men replied as he drew a kunai from his pouch.

"And what were you _ordered_ to do?"

"To kill anyone that might be a threat to our goal," the man whispered as he brought the knife down to Kiba's neck.

xx

"Do you think Kiba got caught?" Hinata asked Shino as quietly as she could, trying not to draw attention to herself.

"We'll just have to trust he can take care of himself for now," Shino said as he brought both his hands together under the table. "Regardless of his status though…"

xx

Kiba felt himself shiver as the cold metal of the Suna mans blade hovered a hair length away from his neck. He'd fucked up and now he was going to die. Not that he had really expected to survive much longer; he just kind of hoped he could see how everything would turn out tonight.

"Any last words?" The knife wielding man asked as he brought the knife even closer.

"Hurry up," Kiba muttered, he hated theatrics.

The man opened his mouth to retort Kiba's snide comment but was interrupted as an explosion from the front of the mansion echoed through the air. He glanced nervously towards his friend, letting the knife move away from Kiba's neck.

Sirens started to sound throughout the complex, and shouts could be heard from the front of the mansion as people moved into position.

"Shit, I think it's an attack! Hurry up and kill him-"

But Kiba was already gone. As soon as the man had turned his attention to the sirens and removed the knife from his neck, Kiba had bolted, running along the outside of the mansion; away from his two Suna captors.

"Shit. Let him go, he had no where to go. We have to get into position."

xx

Kankuro rushed towards the front of the mansion, Temari and the rest of his men close behind him. It could be difficult to hold off the infected this time, the attack the previous night had been bad and they hadn't been able to completely restore all of the traps.

"Everyone get to your posts!" Kankuro ordered as he and his group approached the front door of the mansion, "Prepare for anything!"

As the group finally made it out of the mansion they all gasped at the site that greeted them as they stepped into the outside world.

xx

"Hurry up!" Naruto yelled over the blazing sirens and he and what remained of their group ran through the mansion towards a back passage they had been shown to use just in case the mansion got overrun.

As the group reached the exit, a small wooden trap door in one of the bedrooms that lead to an underground passage to another safe house a small distance off, Hinata stopped, catching her breath as she tried to speak.

"We have to go find Kiba," Hinata exclaimed, delaying the group from escaping through the passage.

"He'll be fine of his own, we have to get out of here quick before they realize what's happening," Shino responded as he opened the hatch, preparing to jump down.

"No we have to go find him, he'll be in trouble if we leave without him," Hinata repeated before she abandoned her team and went off in search of Kiba.

"Damn it," Naruto growled as he watched Hinata run away down the hall. "Well I can't just let her go alone." And then he too ran off down the hall after Hinata.

With a groan Shino stepped back from the hatch and ran off down the hall after Naruto and Hinata. It would only cause trouble if they all separated now.

xx

"Damn it, those Konoha brats," Kankuro hissed as he looked at the scene in front of him. There was no attack. There weren't any infected in site. The only thing that was different was that the metal door that used to complete the wall had now been blown off, a gaping hole where it used to be.

Off in the distance a screech could be heard as the infected started moving. "Shit, the explosion must have attracted them," Temari said, gritting her teeth as she watched a swarm of infected appear on the horizon.

"Everyone be prepared, this is going to be difficult!" Kankuro called out as he turned to head back into the mansion, readjusting his puppets on his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Temari asked angrily, she wasn't just going to let her brother abandon them while he went and saved himself.

"I'm going to go have a word with our visitors."

xx

Kiba panted as he weaved through the corridors of the mansion looking for his teammates. It had been nearly five minutes since he had escaped and he had yet to find anyone. He had first checked the dining room, figuring maybe they would wait for him there, but they were no where to be found. He then headed for the escape route, but it had yet to be opened, indicating they were not there either.

The sirens still rang throughout the house and over them Kiba could hear the hollers of infected as they approached the mansion. He didn't have much time, he had to find his teammates quick or he would be in big trouble. His hands were still bound and he had been stripped of his weapons. If he had to fight infected he would be surely die.

So Kiba continued to weave through the hallways of the large mansion, searching for his teammates. He shouldn't have to worry about running into any Suna ninja, as they would be busy dealing with infected. But if his teammates were also looking for him they could be going around in circles and they would never find each other. His best bet was just to wait by the trapdoor for them to show up.

Stopping on his heels, Kiba made a full turn and headed back towards the trap door, moving as fast as he could without loosing his balance. The screams of the infected were growing closer by the second; it wouldn't be long until they overran the Suna ninjas.

Kiba sprinted through the corridors, keeping his head low to help balance better without his hands. As he rounded the final corner before arriving at the hallway that had the trapdoor Kiba ran into something solid that definitely had not been there before.

"Where the hell do you think you're going mutt?" Kankuro growled as he loomed menacingly over the Inuzuka that lay knocked over on the ground, attempting to struggle to his feet.

xx

"Hold your positions!" Temari yelled as the infected got closer and closer. "Don't use any weapons until they are within range!"

Holding off this attack was going to be vey difficult. Kankuro had taken off, leaving only seven people to defend against the horde of infected that were attacking. Two of those were young children who were not fully trained and would not be much help if things got out of hand.

The seven watched tensely as the infected rushed towards their location. Their numbers were great and even with the protection of the remainder of the mine field they still may be able to make it to the door. Normally that wouldn't be too much of a problem as by that time their numbers would be small and they would be unable to break the thick door, but now that the door was gone there could be problems.

"Get ready!" Temari warned once again as she readied to attack.

The infected were approaching the outer limits of the trap field now. As soon as the first explosions went off they would be in range to be attacked. But as the infected dashed even further forward, beyond where the mine field started, nothing happened. No traps went off and the infected continued forward without any delay.

"W-what the hell," Temari gasped as the infected moved even closer with not a single explosion going off. "Those Konoha bastards must have deactivated the field!"

A barrage of weapons flew from the wall, taking out several infected, but it wasn't enough. Their numbers were too large and the volley of weapons barely slowed them down. Abandoning her post on top of the wall, Temari jumped down to block the door, drawing her fan in the process. The infected were only meters away now and with a grunt, Temari swung her fan, sending a number of them flying backwards. But even this was not enough and the infected that had been blown back from the door were quickly replaced by almost double the number.

Temari tried to recoil her fan for another attack but the infected had gotten too close and before she could bring it back down the infected had her pinned to the ground, her fan flying harmlessly off to the side. Temari screamed as the infected clawed at her, tearing at her neck and chest, blood pouring out into the sand.

xx

"Kiba where the hell are you?" Hinata whispered as she ran threw the hallways of the mansion. They had been searching for several minutes and had found no sign of him. Off in the distance they could hear screams as the infected finally reached the wall and the Suna ninjas were overran. They didn't have much time now, they wouldn't have much more luck if they had to go up against the infected.

"Hinata, we have to leave now, Kiba will be fine on his own," Shino said, turning to go back to the trap door.

"I can't leave him…" Hinata whimpered. She couldn't lose Kiba. She had already lost her while family; if she lost Kiba she would lose one of the last people that was truly important to her. And she didn't want Kiba to die hating her.

"Hinata we don't have time," Naruto pleaded, "I don't want to leave him either but we'll all die if we stay here any longer.

Shino had already started running back to their escape path, Naruto following close behind. Hinata hesitated for a moment, frozen where she stood. Howls from inside the mansion brought her back to her senses and without another moment hesitation she took off after Shino.

Shino sprinted through the corridors, Naruto and Hinata right on his heels. Screeches and howls echoed throughout the entire mansion now and the stronghold was quickly being overrun. Shino drew a kunai as he progressed, ready for anything.

Shino cursed the mansions huge size. Navigating the hallways was like being in a maze and it took several minutes to find your way anywhere. Even if Kiba was still alive somewhere in the mansion it would be next to impossible to find him if he was moving as well. It didn't help he didn't have his kikai to guide him and Hinata couldn't use her byukagan through the mansions chakra reflective walls.

Regardless of how bad their situation was, Shino continued to run, sliding around corners, narrowly missing knocking over several tables and furniture lining the halls. And then, only a few bends from their destination, Shino stopped, Naruto and Hinata barely stopping in time to prevent knocking him over.

For one of the first time in his life that he could remember, Shino hesitated. He starred down at the two figures in front of him, kunai drawn but unable to use it. He looked at the two young kids that glared back up at him, their red, blood shot eyes trained on his exposed flesh. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't. He hesitated. Only for a moment, but that moment was enough.

The infected children lurched at him. Shino was able to knock the first away, sending the small mass of rage tumbling into the wall but he didn't have time to react as the second child dug its fangs into his arm, piercing deep into his skin. Shino threw him off, cringing as the boy took a chunk of his flesh with him.

"S-Shino!" Naruto gasped as he witnessed the scene. "Y-you got bit. Y-you're…"

Shino nodded, knowing exactly what Naruto was going to say. Blood dripped from the wound on his arm, but he paid no attention to it. The infected children had stood up, preparing for another attack. Shino didn't hesitate this time and quickly disposed of both of them with his kunai, their bodies falling limply to the ground. Now Shino took the blade, still dripping with infected blood, and turned it on himself.

"Shino, please don't…" Hinata pleaded, knowing full well there was no other option.

"I'm sorry, I have failed you both," was the last thing Shino said before he dug through knife through his heart, blood spurting out as he collapsed into a heap on the ground.

xx

"Insolent brat," Kankuro muttered as he watched Kiba scramble away from him, managing to stand up with the held of the wall. "We save you and you go and get everyone killed, is that how your 'will of fire' or whatever the fuck you call it works?"

"We're thankful for your help and all but we can't let you go ahead with your plan," Kiba growled, backing away from Kankuro towards the room with the trap door.

"Our plan is the only hope for this world."

"Your plan was to destroy Suna and Konoha! We can't let you do that! It may be destroyed now but it's still our home and once we beat this infection we are going back to it!" Kiba yelled, watching as Kankuro took his puppet from his back.

"It's the only way to save the remaining survivors. You know we waited for you guys to come. We could have blown Konoha to bits at any time we wanted, we've had the whole place lined with explosives since the war! So we wait for you and you repay us like this?!" Kankuro barked viscously as he peeled the fabric that wrapped his puppet, revealing its twisted wooden form.

"We never asked for you to wait," Kiba growled as he dived for the door, daggers whizzing by him as he collapsed into the room.

"Don't even try to run mutt, you're only delaying the-"

"You talk too much," Naruto muttered as he watched Kankuro's body fall to the ground, two kunai sticking out of his throat.

"Kiba!" Hinata yelled as she rushed over to where Kiba had dived and still lay on the ground, only his feet sticking out into the hallway.

Naruto remained in the hallway for a moment, examining Kankuro's body as it laid limp, blood pooling from the wound in his neck. They had gone from enemies to friends to enemies so quickly it had surprised him and while he hadn't wanted to kill Gaara's brother, it was necessary. Screeches were growing closer as infected ransacked the mansion. Hinata was calling out for him now to come quickly, but he ignored her for a moment, taking in the scene in all its gruesomeness.

His moment of reflection was interrupted though, when several infected rounded the bend on the other end of the hall, hissing before charging at him. Naruto ran for the door Kiba and Hinata had entered and got in just before the infected reached him. He slammed the door in their face, hearing them scratch and slam at it, trying to break through.

"Okay, we have to move quick," Naruto ordered, "Kiba and Hinata get into the passage."

"Naruto…" Hinata whimpered.

"What are you waiting for? Go! The door won't hold much longer!"

"Naruto…"

"Heh, I think I got hit," Kiba grumbled, pointing to the knife that jutted out from his abdomen. Hinata was crouched over him, on the verge of tears, trying to clean him up. She had untied his arms but beyond that she couldn't think of what else to do.

"We have to bandage these wounds," Hinata murmured as she ripped the knife from Kiba, shoving gauze in it to slow down the bleeding. She couldn't lose Kiba, she _wouldn't _lose Kiba. She had just lost Shino; she couldn't stand to lose another teammate so soon. The pounding on the doors intensified and the frame started to creak and crack as the infected slowly broke through.

"Hinata, we can't stay here!" Naruto yelled as he threw open the trap door. "Pick him up, we'll have to treat him at the safe house, if we stay here we die!"

Hinata bit her lip but complied. She lifted Kiba up and with Naruto's help, lowered him into the hole, jumping down after him. Naruto jumped down into the passage way just as the infected broke through the door, closing the trap door behind him. The infected pounded on the ground on the other side of the door but would never be able to break through, as it was reinforced by several inches of concrete.

"We have to hurry!" Hinata cried as she lifted Kiba up. Naruto nodded and grabbed the Inuzuka's feet, running as fast as he could carrying the injured boy down the narrow passage way.

"Kiba, stay with me!" Hinata begged as he ran in pace with Naruto down the passage. Kiba was loosing more and more blood by the moment and the knife could have even hit a vital point, if they didn't hurry he would be in trouble.

Kiba felt heavy as he was carried down the hallway, an intense pain in his chest. His vision was getting blurry and it was becoming difficult to keep his eyes open. He could barely see Hinata's tear stained face as she carried him down the passage way.

"Kiba, I'm so sorry for everything I did, please don't die on me," Hinata whispered, trying to pick up the pace as she felt a trickle of Kiba's blood hit her skin.

"I know, I never really was mad at you," Kiba replied weakly, feeling his arms go limp in Hinata's hands.

"Please don't die…"

"It's alright, Hinata," Kiba assured her, "I'm fine. Everything is going to be fine."

"Stay with me!"

Naruto and Hinata lay Kiba on a table as they reached the safe house, tossing everything off it in the process. Hinata immediately started treating Kiba's wound, wrapping it in bandage and applying pressure to it.

"His pulse and breathing is getting weaker!" Hinata yelled as she continued to work. "Naruto, get the medical supplies out of your bag."

"W-we don't have our bags…"

"Damn it Kiba, breath! Fucking breath!"

Kiba's breathing had stopped altogether now and Hinata pressed her hands together and pushed down on Kiba's chest, trying to jumpstart him. She reached over and placed her mouth on his, blowing as hard as she could, trying to get air into him.

"Breath!"

"Hinata, stop it."

Hinata continued to pound on Kiba's chest, blowing all her air into his lungs. He wasn't going to die; she wasn't going to let him.

"Hinata, stop it!"

"Breath! Kiba, I know you can do this, breath!"

"Hinata, he's gone!"

"Live!"

"Hinata! Stop it, he's dead!"

Hinata lost it now. Collapsing forwards onto Kiba's body, sobbing as she felt his chest lay still under her head. She had lost him, she had lost everybody. "They're gone, they're all gone. Alone. We're all alone."

"Hinata…"

"Why does everyone have to die…?"

"Hinata…"

"I'm all alone…"

"You've still got me."

Hinata looked up at the blond boy who stood over her, his face dirty and scratched and his body far too thin, yet somehow he seemed strong. She quavering wiped the tears from her face, pushing herself off of Kiba's body.

"So what do we do now?"

"I don't know," Naruto replied quietly, looking gloomily down at Kiba's body. "We have to go. We have to secure this place."

"W-what about Kiba?"

"We can give him a proper burial when everything dies down," Naruto replied solemnly, still starring at Kiba's body, the dog boys face looking strangely peaceful.

Hinata nodded, wiping more tears away as she made here way around the table to Naruto's side. "Okay, let's go," she whispered as they walked out of the room to examine the rest of the house, leaving Kiba's cold body laying on the table, blood dripping off the side onto the ground.

"You going to be okay?"

"Yeah...yeah I think I'll be fine."

_Fade to black_

_End_


End file.
